December 29, 2008

TOURISTS are descending on Tetepare Island in the Western Province in the hope of seeing a rare leatherback turtle, as rangers on the island work to save the critically endangered species.

Conservation staff from the Tetepare Descendants’ Association (TDA) have declared this breeding season one of the best since their turtle monitoring program began five years ago, with more females nesting than in previous years.

Rangers on Tetepare Island in the Western Province have tagged three leatherback turtles this month, and have relocated several leatherback nests to protect them from flooding at high tide.

The Western Pacific leatherback is critically endangered which means the species is on the brink of extinction.

TDA rangers Matthew and Hanakolo Suka managed to tag the first leatherback for the breeding season, after the turtle laid a clutch on 127 eggs on Tetepare’s Queru beach earlier this month.

Ranger Matthew Suka, who leads the TDA Turtle Program on Tetepare, said rangers had recorded several leatherback and green turtle nests on Tetepare beaches since October.

Mr Suka said this nesting season was shaping up to be particularly successful.

Tetepare Island, the largest uninhabited tropical island in the world, is conserved and managed by the TDA and has been recognised internationally for its conservation significance and archaeological values.

The island is an important breeding ground for leatherback and green turtles.

TDA Conservation Advisor Anthony Plummer, an Australian marine biologist working with the TDA through Australian Volunteers International, said people from Baniata, Havilla and Retavo on neighbouring Rendova Island, were also recording and protecting leatherback nests on their local beaches as part of a TDA-run community incentive program to conserve leatherback turtles.

“It’s terrific to see communities in the Western Province coming together to protect these rare and beautiful creatures,’’ Mr Plummer said.

“These communities are showing the world that everyone can play an important role in helping leatherback turtles survive.’’

Mr Plummer said eco-tourists visiting the TDA-run ecolodge on Tetepare, or the Baniata village-stay were also helping to save the species by supporting local people and communities working to conserve turtles.

He said rangers were able to predict the nights when the leatherbacks were most likely to nest on particular beaches, and the TDA could advise tourists of potential nesting dates to maximise their chances of seeing one of these ancient creatures. “It’s a very special experience - a once in a lifetime chance for many people,’’ he said.

“The nesting season is at its peak now, and will continue until late February, so anyone hoping to see these turtles should arrange a visit to Tetepare quickly,’’ he said.

Mr Plummer said leatherback numbers in the Western Pacific had declined by more than 90 per cent since the 1980s. He said leatherbacks were facing many threats, including too much harvesting of their eggs.

“Leatherbacks have been swimming around in the oceans and nesting on these beaches since the time of the dinosaurs, and now, we are driving them to extinction,’’ he said.

Mr Plummer said it was important that people did not disturb leatherback nests because there were so few breeding turtles left. “Leatherback turtles could disappear within our lifetime and future generations of children in the Solomons and around the world may never get the chance to see them,’’ he said.

“Their fate lies in our hands.’’

Named for the smooth leathery skin on its back, the leatherback is the largest sea turtle in the world.

hey can grow to more than 1.75 metres long and weigh more than 500 kilograms.

They have been recorded diving more than one kilometre deep. The TDA is one of the largest landowner associations in the Solomon Islands, with more than 3000 members.

Anyone wishing to visit Tetepare for the chance of viewing nesting leatherbacks or hatchlings can contact the TDA office in Munda on 62163 or email the TDA.

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